The Green Bay Packers’ special teams unit was one of the major talking points after Sunday’s 13-10 loss on the road to the Cleveland Browns. Special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia has been under the microscope to start the year, and Sunday’s mishaps didn’t help.
Veteran kicker Brandon McManus, whom Green Bay signed this offseason to a three-year, $15.3 million extension, had a potential game-winning 43-yard field goal blocked by Browns defender Shelby Harris. If this were his only mishap this season, Packers fans wouldn’t be ready to press the panic button yet.
However, it wasn’t. If you remember, McManus missed a 48-yard field goal in Week 2 at the end of the first half, which would’ve given Green Bay a 17-3 lead. Thankfully, it didn’t come back to haunt the Packers, but some fans are worried this could be Brayden Narveson all over again.
Packers Fans Hope Brandon McManus Isn't Brayden Narveson 2.0
Last season, Packers fans weren’t pleased with Narveson, who made 12-of-17 field goals in six games, but struggled from 40-49 yards (5-of-9). In fact, he missed at least one field goal in four of those games, leading Green Bay to sign McManus.
The Packers hoped McManus would bring some stability to the special teams unit, which he did last season. McManus made a career-high 95.2 percent of his field goals (20-of-21) and was 6-of-7 from 40-plus yards out in 11 games.
Based on his production in that short time, the Packers decided to give McManus a multi-year extension, hoping he’d continue to produce at a high level. However, three games into the 2025 season, McManus’ 2024 season is looking more like an anomaly.
Before joining Green Bay last year, the veteran kicker made 81.1% of his field goals (30-of-37) with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023 and 77.8% of his field goals (28-of-36) with the Denver Broncos in 2022.
He was also a career 81.4 percent kicker before signing with Green Bay last year, which still isn’t bad, especially with what the Packers went through with Narveson and also Anders Carlson in 2023.
That said, we shouldn’t be surprised if McManus comes back down to earth this year. Now, you hope that doesn’t cost the Packers a game, as we saw with Narveson last year. McManus will get a chance at redemption next week in primetime against the Dallas Cowboys.